jeff atwood: civilized discourse... but how?

CIVILIZED DISCOURSE .. BUT HOW?

Jeff Atwood

discourse.orgstackexchange.comcodinghorror.com

From "only nerds will use the Internet" to "everyone stares at their smartphones all day long!" in 20 years. Not bad, team :-).— Marc Andreessen @pmarca January 16, 2015

The good news is that, at this moment, every human being is far more connected to their fellow humans than any human has ever been in the entirety of recorded history. Spoiler alert: that's also the bad news.

Today’s forum software has a default FAQ that tells you how to make bold text, but absolutely nothing about how to moderate your forum, deal with trolls, appoint moderators, or even how to get people to visit in the first place.

Can software teach you to get along with other people?

Rules

Laboratory studies show that this kind of force-feeding can activate bias rather than stamp it out.As social scientists have found, people often rebel against rules to assert their autonomy. Try to coerce me to do X, Y, or Z, and I’ll do the opposite just to prove that I’m my own person.

In one study white subjects read a brochure critiquing prejudice toward blacks.When people felt pressure to agree with it, the reading strengthened their bias against blacks.When they felt the choice was theirs, the reading reduced bias.

The incredible power of Just In Time nudges

The power of a gentle nudge, delivered at exactly the right time.

- Posting some, but no profile picture?- Replying to the same person... a lot?- Replying to the same topic… a lot?- Posting a link someone else already posted?- You’re replying with a single word?

Make the right thing easy to do and the wrong thing awkward to do

While Airbnb isn’t necessarily more racist than other corners of the internet, the study authors suggested that the user-to-user design of the site allows for bias in a way that a traditional hotel booking site does not.

Remove friction from reading

Reward the positive behaviors you want

Ignore (or suppress / redirect) negative behaviors you don’t want

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: be very, very careful that you are rewarding the actual behavior you want.

Showing up is 90% of the job

❤ great content

Numbers & sorting, used very carefully

Reward collaboration; reciprocate ❤

1. Build aspirational guidelines, and refer to them (but don’t force it)2. Use Just In Time nudges3. Make the right thing easy to do and the wrong thing awkward to do4. Reward positive behaviors

THANKS!

Jeff Atwood

discourse.orgstackexchange.comcodinghorror.com